Steam pile-driver



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheen 1.

T. M. SKINNER.

STEAM PILE DRIVER.

No. 273,904. Patented Mar.,13, 1883.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. M. SKINNER.

STEAM PILBDRIVER.

Patented Mar. 13,188.3.

r w www@ M n TW A yi THOMAS M. SKINNER, OF COLORADO SPRlNGS, COLORADO.

STEAM PIL=DR|VER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 273,904, dated March 13, 1883.

Application filed January 7, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS M. SKINNER, of Colorado Springs, in the county of El Paso andbtate oi' Colorado, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Steam Pile- Drivers, of which the following is a full and clear description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specitication.

My invention relates to that class of steam pile-drivers in which the hammer is lifted by the direct; action ofthe steam; and the object of my invention is to make a compact, durable,ande`ectivesteam pile-driver withastrong frame, and with a steam-chest so constructed as to receive and transmit to the cylinder the steam with little friction or wear, and in which the length of stroke can be regulated so as to overcome the difficulties that have been heretofore experienced in the use ot steam piledrivers, special reference being had to Letters Patent No. 185,458, granted to me December 19, 1876.

Myinvention consists in thespecial construction and combination of the valve with ports and pipes, as hereinafter speciiied, and also in the special construction of the movable trip with which the valve is opened and closed to regulate the length of fall ofthe hammenand also in the special construction of the frame, all as hereinafter fully specified.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a frontelevaticn of my improved pile-driver; Fig. 2, a vertical central section taken transversely through the same on the line x a", Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view ofthe same with one ofthe leaders a removed. Fig. 4L is a crosssection through the cylinder b; Fig. 5, a vertical section through the steam-chest c; Fig. 6, an edge view ot the valve removed from the steam-chest; Fig. 7, a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. S is a horizontal sectional view through the hammer-frame, taken at the line y y, Fig. 1, looking down. v

a a are the leaders, which I preferably make of Wood, and t t are beams ot' I or channel beam iron, secured firmly to the cylinder by means ot' the bolts 9 9, the bolts passing through flanges cast on said cylinder and secured on the inside of the cylinder by nuts et, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. These I-beams tt are also bolted to thecone q, as shown in Fig.3.

o is thehammer, and is made ot' such shape as to iit between the I-beams tt, as shown in Fig. S, the I-beams acting as a guide to the hammer, and preventing injury to the leaders and other parts ofthe machine when in operation. The form of the -beam-frarne pieces t t gives the frame great strength laterally, and at the same time forms a guide to the hammers o.

m is a piston, and a the piston-rod,to which the hammer o is attached by means ofthe pins y y. v

(i isa port connecting the upper part of the cylinder b with the exhaust-port 7 and pipe fi.

c gis a steam-valve located in the steamchest c.

7c is a steam-pipe, through which the steam passes into the interior of the valve cg, by which means thepressure is relieved in the operation cf the valve, and the valve is balanced by having openings on opposite sides relieving the pressure ou its face.

7 8 are the exhaust and steam ports.

2 is a wedge-shaped trip-block attached to the hammer o. This trip-block is so secured to the hammer as to be adjustable vertically, and it is so arranged on the hammer that in the upward movement of the hammer it will strike the pivoted leverz and litt the valve r, and thus allow the steam to escape from below the valve e g through the exhaust-port 5, so that the valve c g may fall, thereby cutting oft" the supply of steam, while allowing an escape from below the piston m through the port 8 and the exhaust-port 5,thus allowing the hammer to fall by its own weight.

By the adjustment of the trip-block 2 ofthe hammer its upward stroke is regulated.

lis a pipe and cock on thesteam-chest c for admitting steam below the value e g.

The operation of my pile-driveris astollows: It is raised to the top of the leaders a a by means ofa chain or rope attached to the ring o, and there supported till the pile is put in place. It is then arranged so that the cone q rests on the upper end ot' the pile, the whole weight of the machine being allowed to rest on the top oi' the pile. The pipe k being connected toa steam-boiler, the steam enters the interior of the valve e g, and then passes to the lower side of the valve through pipe and cock l, which raises the valve and admits steam to the lower side of the piston m through port 8,

. shown in Fig. 7, the valve e g drops as soon as the steam from below it exhausts, thereby eX- hausting the steam from below the piston m through the ports 8 into the pipez', causing the hammer o to drop upon the pile by its own gravity. The drop of the hammer o releases the pivoted lever 2, ailowin g the valve r to close, when the steam raises the valve e g, as before,

and repeats the operation above described.

rlhe port 6 allows the escape of air and steam from thecylinder above the piston m through the exhaust-port 7 and pipe fi, thus obviating the necessity of any opening immediately into the outer air, and providing for the warming of all air admitted to the cylinder by means ot' its transit through the exhaust-steam pipe. This passage from the upper part of the cylinder through the ports 6 and 7 and pipe i is always open, being unaffected by the position ot' the valve e y. The steam by which the piston m is operated is admitted below that piston oply, the only steam which gets into thecylinder above it being such as leaks through the packing or is carried in with the current of air from the exhaust-pipe.

Having thus fully described the construction and operation of my invention, what I claim as new, and desirel to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In combination with the leaders a a and hammer o, the I-shaped irons it, forming apart of tne frame ot' the pile-driver, and serving as a guide to the pile-driver in the leaders, and also as a guide to the hammer, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the movable tripblock 2, the hammer o, pivoted lever z, and valve r, as shown and specified.

3. The hollow balanced valve e g, made larger at one end than at the other, in combination with the pipe and cock Z, opening below the valve, and exhaust-valve r, constructed and arranged substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the exhaust-pipe i, exhaust-ports 6 and 7, and the valve e g, as and for the purpose speciied.

5. The exhaust-pipe i, in combination with the exhaust-port 5, valve r, exhaust-port 7, and hollow valve'e g, as described.

6. The combination ot' the I-beam irons t t and flanges attached to the cylinder b, secured together substantially as described.

Taos. M. sKINNER.

Witnesses:

JN0. C. MAcGREGoR, THOMAS H. PEAsE. 

